The Department of Education provides education to young Territorians from the early years to adulthood. It has a range of strategic policy, regulatory, delivery and support responsibilities including-ensuring quality early learning and development programs, delivering high quality education services to maximize student learning, providing pathways for school-aged students aligned with their further education, and work or career aspirations, providing a regulatory function over the operation of early childhood services and non-government schools, supporting Northern Territory (NT) institutions delivering tertiary education Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS).

The department employs about 4150 people across the Northern Territory, including about 3500 teachers, principals and other school staff. Every school day, they provide public education to about 33,000 students in 151 schools. Education services are also delivered to about 40 Homeland Learning Centres (HLCs). HLCs are small remote sites delivering education services to small groups of students who are unable to attend the central school in their area. Of the 188 government and non-government schools in the NT, 83 schools have nearly 100 per cent Indigenous enrolment. Ninety-one schools have Indigenous enrolments of over 80 per cent, which accounts for about 23 per cent of all students.